(AP) Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson freely admits he is not expecting a repeat of the last season's Champions League encounter when Roma travel to Old Trafford on Tuesday.

United hammered Roma 7-1 back in April to earn a 8-3 aggregate victory and a place in the semi-finals, with winger Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice on the night as the Italian side fell apart.

"It was a one-off," Ferguson said. "It won't happen again. European football is just not that way these days.

"It was an exceptional performance. I think it will be difficult because Roma are playing well.

"It's a big occasion for them after the defeat they suffered last year. They will want to turn that scoreline around."

Ferguson has received mixed news concerning injuries ahead of the match with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (toe) definitely ruled out, while defenders Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic face late tests after picking up knocks during the 1-0 win over Birmingham City on Saturday.

Tomasz Kuczszak will deputize for van der Sar in goal, while John O'Shea and Gerard Pique stand by as defensive cover.

England midfielder Owen Hargreaves could make his European debut for the Red Devils after recovering from a thigh strain.

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti hopes to have Simone Perrotta available despite the midfielder suffering a thigh injury suffered during Saturday's 4-1 home defeat by Inter Milan.

Spalletti is keen for his players to forget about last weekend's Serie A loss and concentrate on the trip to Manchester.

"We must forget our defeat to Inter and bounce back straight away," he said. "We are jumping into a completely different reality on Tuesday and we must be strong mentally."

"Let's not forget we had to play for an hour in numerical inferiority (after Ludovic Giuly was sent off).